A Better Bachelor Pad

Author:

Designer Regan Baker conceives a stylish grown-up space for a first-time homeowner

The living room includes the Parisian sofa and Montesquieu chandelier, both from Restoration Hardware.

THE TERM “BACHELOR PAD” can conjure up images of ugly recliners crowding a living room, card tables masquerading as dining surfaces and humdrum posters pinned to beige walls. But that’s far from the case here: The bachelor, Alan Ledford, enlisted interior designer Regan Baker to turn a blank slate of a San Francisco Victorian into a modern venue for entertaining friends and hosting out-of-town family.

The mural wallpaper from Anewall, art by Sinziana Velicescu (from Uprise Art) and a sconce from Andrew Neyer are among the dining room’s standout elements.
A guest bath combines floral wallpaper by Ellie Cashman with Cedar & Moss’ Athena sconces.

Virginia native Ledford, who works in the tech industry, desired “something that was kind of artistic and grungy,” says Baker, who was responsible for the new furnishings, textiles, light fixtures and accessories. The home’s palette and patterns were also her purview. A chair that belonged to Ledford’s grandparents and a gumball machine—a reference to Tuesday’s Sweet Shoppe, the Los Angeles candy store he co-owns—were among the few things that he brought to the 3,100-square-foot abode.

A Parker Fitzgerald photograph hangs
in the office, which is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Gondola Ride.

Baker created a living room scheme anchored by a pair of brass-and-oak coffee tables as well as ample seating— courtesy of a dark gray linen sofa and a couple of green velvet-covered wing chairs—all grounded by an etched, hand-dyed rug. Ledford’s sleeping quarters feature a custom leather headboard mated with bedside pendant lamps that accentuate the 10-foot ceiling. Elsewhere, his favorite color takes center stage to stunning effect, with the office’s walls, moldings, shelving and door painted green.

The client’s bedroom features a custom leather headboard fabricated by Jovinas Upholstery, nightstands from Lulu & Georgia and Foscarini’s Aplomb pendant lamps.
In the master bath, Baker painted the existing chandelier black to contrast with the room’s chrome fixtures and added Texturae’s Ossa wallpaper.

To lend an edginess to the building’s period details, Baker introduced dramatic wallcoverings. On a large wall in the dining room that extends down the stairwell, a wallpaper comprised of large brush strokes speaks to Ledford’s fondness for abstract art. The master bathroom surprises with a skeleton motif, while a dark and moody floral envelops a guest bathroom. It all adds up to interiors that perfectly suit the client’s taste, she says—right down to the vintage gumball machine that only dispenses the green variety. -Anh-Minh Le